Desperately need help with Theme/Decor etc!

dar4765

I'm feeling clueless!  I have few ideas of things I'd like, but it's so overwhelming.  I'm interested in doing some draping and hanging of either lights, strings of various things (beads/crystals, oragami paper cranes, feathers).....add some kind of decor to a pretty bland banquet room? The idea of dealing with decor the day of the wedding sounds horrible.  Who can I hire to help me with this.  Is this a what a wedding planner does?  Are wedding planners expensive?  Ack!  Just a little advice?  Please?

aerinpegadrak

You can hire a day-of coordinator to take care of this for you.  They're usually less expensive than a full-service planner.  Ask your local board for recommendations.

Or, you could see if you know someone who could take point on that stuff, maybe a responsible co-worker or friend-of-a-friend that you could hire for much cheaper (say, $100-200 for the day).  I'm DOCing for a couple of friends this spring, but if any of your guests are going to be doing it, you should let them volunteer rather than recruit them.

Sue-n-Kevin

OK, it sounds as though you have two questions: Deciding what you want, then who's going to do the work.

Theme, etc: It sounds like you are not happy with your banquet facility as it stands, un-decorated. Ask them what they will allow you to do first of all, because some places are pretty picky. Ask them if they have some weddings scheduled before yours, so you can see what other people are doing. Color schemes can be set to match whatever your's is, but the ideas of what others are doing are helpful. You can scan hundreds of pics here and on other sites to solidify your ideas and plans for your reception. Something basic would be to buy bolts of tulle and strings of white lights, cut the tulle into 9-12 inch widths and cover the light strings and hang that around the room, from corner to corner, whatever matches the layout of the room. But you have to see what the electrical outlet availability is at the banquet hall.

Day-of wedding help: To assist with the above, and your set up and tear down afterward, you could make some appointments with wedding coordinators. Wedding planners get very involved in the entiire process and are very expensive. Coordinators should be able to show you some ideas during an initial appointment, things they have done in the past, and if they are local to you, they may be familiar with your hall. Before you schedule an appointment, explain what you want: an initial meeting, and coordination of the finished plan the day before, day of, and that's all. Many coordinators have their own "equipment", ie lights etc. Ask what they charge, and then if  you can buy it cheaper, do so. In this day and age, with so much on the internet and so many DIY stores, many brides do not pay for coordinators. You can probably get a price break for limited activity on their part. You just need to make sure you provide them with the phone numbers of your vendors, ie bakery, caterer, whatever you are using. They should be able to handle the rest.

Good luck.